Department of Chemistry , Indian Institute of Technology , Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016 , India.
J Phys Chem B. 2019 Jun 27;123(25):5324-5336. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b02459. Epub 2019 Jun 17.
Reverse micelles (RMs) as soft templates have been successfully used in tailoring the structural characteristics (size and morphology) of nanomaterials that in turn have been used in various applications. In this work, we have focused on the local perturbations in the different interior domains of the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide-reverse micelle-based soft template en route to nanorod formation by monitoring the solvation response of coumarin-based solvatochromic probes (C343 and C153). We have observed an appreciable retardation of the solvent coordinate during the initial phases of nanorod growth, which we have attributed to the reorientational motion of the water molecules lodged in the interfacial region. Moreover, these rigid nanostructures leave their imprints on the soft interfacial layer as was observed from the direct correlation in the solvation response of RM-containing nanostructures and respective surfactant aggregates in supernatant solution. Supporting data from time-resolved anisotropy studies further reinforced our conclusions from the solvation experiments. Our study proves that the hydration dynamics can be a promising tool in tracking the heterogeneous growth evolution of nanostructure formation in RMs since solvent reorganization provides insights into the intrinsic, molecular-level features of the micellar assemblies.
反胶束（RMs）作为软模板，已成功用于调整纳米材料的结构特征（尺寸和形态），这些纳米材料继而在各种应用中得到了应用。在这项工作中，我们通过监测香豆素基溶剂化变色探针（C343 和 C153）的溶剂化响应，集中研究了形成纳米棒过程中不同内部区域的局部微扰。我们观察到在纳米棒生长的初始阶段，溶剂坐标明显滞后，我们将其归因于界面区域中水分子的重定向运动。此外，这些刚性纳米结构在软界面层上留下了它们的印记，这从 RM 纳米结构和上清液中相应表面活性剂聚集体的溶剂化响应中的直接相关性中可以观察到。来自时间分辨各向异性研究的支持数据进一步加强了我们从溶剂化实验中得出的结论。我们的研究证明，水合动力学可以成为跟踪 RMs 中纳米结构形成的异质生长演化的有前途的工具，因为溶剂重组提供了对胶束组装体固有分子水平特征的深入了解。
